Synopsis

Invisible aliens in a tiny flying saucer come to Earth looking for heroin. They land on top of a New York apartment inhabited by a drug dealer and her female, androgynous, bisexual nymphomaniac lover, a fashion model. The aliens soon find the human pheromones created in the brain during orgasm preferable to heroin, and the model's casual sex partners begin to disappear. This increasingly bizarre scenario is observed by a lonely woman in the building across the street, a German scientist who is following the aliens, and an equally androgynous, drug-addicted male model. (Both models are played by Anne Carlisle, in a dual role.) Darkly funny and thoroughly weird.

Invisible aliens in a tiny flying saucer come to Earth looking for heroin. They land on top of a New York apartment inhabited by a drug dealer and her female, androgynous, bisexual nymphomaniac lover, a fashion model. The aliens soon find the human pheromones created in the brain during orgasm preferable to heroin, and the model's casual sex partners begin to disappear. This increasingly bizarre scenario is observed by a lonely woman in the building across the street, a German scientist who is following the aliens, and an equally androgynous, drug-addicted male model. (Both models are played by Anne Carlisle, in a dual role.) Darkly funny and thoroughly weird.

Director

Cast

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Chris_Docker8 / 10

Cult classic

I could watch this film again and again for the fabulous retro costumes alone. It is a low-budget sci-fi about aliens in a miniature flying saucers that home in on a chemical released in the brain during orgasm which is akin to heroin. There's very little aliens-action, but lots of psychedelic photography, a cunning rhythm that sucks you into the world of Warhol-like druggies, freelove-devotees, artists, fashion designers, experimental musicians, OTT models, and bisexuals. Liquid Sky is a gem (and also contains perhaps the most realistic lesbian sex scene I've ever seen!) S*d the make-up unless is at least as wild as Ziggy Stardust, leave your gender attitude at the door, embrace existence as rocket-fuelled experience, and tune in to Liquid Sky.

Reviewed by phantom2-210 / 10

an overlooked low-budget gem

i first saw liquid sky when it came out and was so intrigued i went back to see it four more times. hadn't seen anything before like it, and haven't seen anything like it since. given that it's obviously a no-budget production by non-actors they do an incredible job. c'mon, anybody who doesn't laugh at the interaction between the scientist and sylvia just has no sense of humor. and there are other priceless moments... ordering shrimp, the look on everyone's faces when jimmy vanishes, "i can't have all these bodies", and best of all: "delicious, delicious." there's more creativity in liquid sky than in a whole summer's worth of Hollywood blockbusters. a lot of it is ugly, some is dated 1980s scene stuff, but it's undeniable and there's not a false note by a single performer. anne carlisle's performance(s) is utterly convincing and it's a shame it's been overlooked.

Reviewed by KeithFromKC9 / 10

I am crazy about this weird, beautiful little film!

I saw LIQUID SKY at a Midnight Showing here in Kansas City, back in 1983 or 84. I was in my late teens and just discovering Independent and Foreign films. A true cinematic oddity, this was a far cry from most of the schlock I was paying to see at the multiplex at that time. To each his own, but I LOVED LIQUID SKY! It's everything a Cult classic should be. The cinematography and use of color are incredible and has the Empire State building ever looked as majestic on screen? In retrospect, I also think the film is a harbinger of what was to come in the mid-late 80's. It's look at excess and style over substance more or less defined that period in time......and despite the crazy hair and Day-Glo makeup, Anne Carlisle is simply stunning.

About two years ago, I bought the DVD from AMAZON.com and although the packaging and overall quality could have been better, I was just glad to finally have a copy of the film in ANY format. Until that time, the only place in KC I could find Liquid Sky, was a beat up copy on VHS from my local Library(!). I probably checked that tape out a dozen times, just to show friends, many of whom, despite what you might think of us simple folk (alleged) here in Middle America, absolutely loved it's warped charms. The film made New York and it's hip, arty inhabitants seem as if they were from another planet. They were no less strange than the killer Alien, or whatever the hell that thing in the film was.

I am curious to know what ever became of Anne Carlisle and Paula E. Sheppard. There is almost zero information about them anywhere in Cyberspace. I did want to join in to say, after viewing the film again last night on DVD for the umpteenth time, that I am crazy about this weird, beautiful little film. It as if an 80's equivalent of Andy Warhol's Factory pooled their money and ideas together to make the coolest low-budget film ever. It captures everything that was fascinating about Independent film in the 80's. A visual experience that is colorful, bizarre, risqué, dark, smart and yes, even funny. I can see how this film would divide people, but if you like it, that's cool. If you don't, well, that's also cool. That I still have it etched in my brain over 20 years later, to me, says a good deal about Liquid Sky's unusual appeal.